As of 13th August, humanity has used up all of the resources Earth is able to produce in one calendar year and has produced more waste than Earth can absorb in that time. This is according to an organisation that analysed thousands of data points.

It’s a staggering fact. If Earth’s resources — farmland, fresh water, waste and carbon absorption — were money in a bank account, it would mean we’ve overdrawn that account by a lot. The budget that should have lasted us for 365 days has only lasted 225 this year. This is according to California think tank Global Footprint Network, which has been calculating “ecological overshoot” for more than a decade. In short, we’re in the red.

As a business we have a number of sustainable initiatives on projects and in our offices but we are not doing enough. There will be more announcements later in the year about things that we can all do to help, so watch this space.

In the meantime, we are hosting a series of events in September for World Green Building Week to provide those in the construction industry with ideas on how to reduce their own personal footprint, the business’s footprint and their project’s footprint. These events are taking place across the globe – click here for more information.